(Dan Tri) – Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, said that a UAV flying from the direction of Ukraine attacked a military base in Tiraspol and blew up a helicopter there.
The helicopter at the military base in Transnistria was blown up because of a UAV attack (Photo: RT).
The press service of Transnistria’s security service told RIA Novosti that a suicide drone attacked a military base in Tiraspol.
Tiraspol is the capital of Transnistria, a region that declared secession from Moldova in the early 1990s.
According to Tass, a helicopter stationed at the base was destroyed by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Officials in Transnistria said the UAV was launched from the neighboring Odesa region of Ukraine.
Moldova’s agency in charge of Transnistria later commented on the incident, calling it a provocation aimed at spreading panic in the region.
`The Reintegration Department has contacted other government agencies and has studied the video and exchanged information. We believe this incident is an attempt to create panic in the area,`
`The military equipment in the video has not been operational for many years. The Moldovan authorities contacted the Ukrainian side and Kiev did not confirm any attack on Transnistria,` the statement emphasized.
RBK Ukraine news agency quoted Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency, accusing the Tiraspol attack of being `a provocation by Russia`.
Transnistria is a breakaway region of Moldova (Photo: Euronews.com).
Transnistria, a land area of more than 3,000 square kilometers on the east bank of the Dniester River, was once home to Soviet troops during the last years of the Cold War.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the region demanded secession from Moldova, sparking a military conflict in March 1992 that ended with a ceasefire in July 1992.
Russia has quickly sent peacekeeping forces to Transnistria to support pro-Russian separatists since 1993.
Since Moscow launched its `special military operation` in Ukraine, Moldova has remained concerned that the Kremlin could use Transnistria to open a new front in the southwest, near Ukraine’s southern Odesa province.
Relations between Russia and Moldova have also tended to escalate since then.
The Russian Ministry of Defense once accused Ukraine of planning an attack on the breakaway region of Moldova but did not provide evidence.
Late last month, lawmakers in Transnistria issued a resolution asking Russia for support in the face of economic pressure from the pro-Western Moldova government.
The resolution accuses Moldova of launching an `economic war` against Transnistria and deliberately blocking negotiations with the pro-Russian separatist government, according to Odessa Journal.
